When is Organic Organic? And Natural Natural?
The science of essential oils falls within the realm of
organic
chemistry, a specialty of the broader field of general chemistry.
While organic chemistry was originally supposed to be the study of
the compounds of life, it was not long before scientists came to
realize that carbon was the basis of all compounds created by
living processes. Hence, today organic chemistry is defined as “the
study of carbon compounds.” This puts a whole new twist on the
field, since today we have thousands of carbon compounds created
in laboratories, synthesized outside of the natural processes of
living organisms—yet they are called “organic.”
Now that scientists call all carbon compounds “organic”
regardless
of their origin, this poses a terminology problem for the public. For
example, all petrochemicals (substances derived from petroleum)
are carbon compounds. This means that pesticides, herbicides, fungicides,
motor fuels, industrial solvents, pharmaceuticals, paints,
disinfectants, cleaning fluids, plastics, Styrofoam, antifreeze, and
thousands of other toxic products that define modern living can be
called “organic” since virtually all of them are composed
of carbon-
based molecules.
Carbon is the most versatile of all the elements and the
only one
capable of forming long chains and complex ring structures with
itself. Its versatility makes it not only ideal as a building material
for innumerable living forms, as well as essential oils, it is also
ideal for creating innumerable industrial products.
However, this is not what you are thinking when you see
the word
organic on a package label. As a member of the consuming public,
you would normally assume that the designation organic means the
product (or its ingredients) were produced free of herbicides,
pesticides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics, etc.
But to
an organic chemist, the term means only that the product contains
carbon compounds, most or all of which could be synthetic. To a
chemist, the term does not necessarily mean that no petrochemicals
or pharmaceuticals were absent from their production. Fortunately,
some states have laws about the misuse of the term and have legally
defined the phrase Certified Organic to mean what most consumers
think it should mean.
When Does Natural Mean Natural?
To the public, the term “organic” also implies
that the product was
grown in healthy soil under sunlight with access to a clean atmosphere—
not synthesized indoors in a lab. In other words, a product labeled
as organic is also assumed to be natural, which is to say that it was
grown in some fashion, not engineered in a factory on a chemical assembly
line. However, in today’s competitive market, even the word “natural”
is abused.
The U.S. Federal government permits the word “natural” to
be used on a label if the product consists of compounds that can be
produced by nature even though the content of that particular product
may have been produced entirely in a chemical factory. They equate the
product of a natural living plant with that of a human manufacturing
plant. (They both come from plants. Right?)
If chemistry completely described the therapeutic and/or
nutritional
properties of a substance, this might be valid. But it doesn’t.
There
is a vitality and a life force in the compounds produced by living
processes that are absent from those produced in a dead
environment like a drug lab or a pharmaceutical plant. This is crucially
important when it comes to essential oils that are intended to be used
for healing.
There are thousands of examples of products labeled as
containing
natural ingredients when, in fact, their tastes are totally manufactured
in a lab. One of the most common examples has to do with fruit flavors
in drinks, candies, chewable vitamins, and other products. Most fruit
flavors are formed from combinations of esters, a class of chemical
compounds found in most essential oils and discussed in Chapter Ten
of this book.
Thus, the taste of bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe, peach,
blueberry, raspberry, apple, orange, lime, papaya, kiwi, and just about
any fruit can be imitated by assembling the right esters. Methyl
anthranilate is an ester found in minor amounts in many essential oils
which is also a natural compound in grapes and cherries. Synthetic
methyl anthranilate is frequently used to produce beverages and
confections, combined with a little color, and labeled as a grape or
cherry product containing natural flavorings.
Now you know what the terms organic and natural mean on
most
product labels and it probably isn't what you thought they meant
or hoped they meant. Knowledge is power. Use it.
NOTE: The extract above is from Dr. Stewart's book
The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple
and its
subtitle is God's Love Manifest in Molecules.
(625 pages)
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